6 Android-Friendly Crowd-Funded Projects for October

Fall is here and we’re starting the countdown of the year’s last quarter towards 2014. As time flies by, it brings with it more interesting crowd-funded projects from Indiegogo and Kickstarter.

In the following post, I will take a look at the most original projects that you can pledge for, then list others that are also worth looking at. Read on to discover them all, and keep in mind that, as with any crowd-funded project, you have to exercise your better judgement and no outcome is really guaranteed.

Several docks have seen the light of day thanks to crowd-funding, but EverDock manages to be a little bit more special. First of all, it is extremely sleek, minimalist, and thanks to a combination of colors and silicons, it can look at home on any desk, bedside table, kitchen counter… Second, it is universal and will come with cables for both iOS and Android (microUSB) devices. And third, there’s a single device as well as a duo version that is perfect for those who carry multiple phones or a phone and a tablet. I instantly went for the Duo EverDock and I can’t wait to get it!

The EverDock is a beautifully designed dock for all of your smartphones and tablets.

Entry price is currently $49 for the single EverDock and $69 for the Duo. Estimated delivery is December 2013 and the project is already fully funded with 5 days to go.

Look, I realize that this is another stand option in this list, but dear me, is the idea just brilliant or what! The Gumstick by Breffo — the same company that brought the Spiderpodium — is a gumstick-sized flexible stand. Bend it, and it stays steady in that shape so you can mount any phone or tablet with it. When you’re done, flatten it out and it’s easy to carry everywhere. The idea is so simple and elegant that it took me all of 2 minutes to click that Pledge button.

The Gumstick is a smartly designed portable stand that transforms according to your needs.

Entry price is currently $15. Estimated delivery is December 2013 and the project still needs a push to be funded in the next 25 days.

I am still kicking myself for not checking the Polar Pen project earlier. It had fallen under my radar when it launched, but for some reason, I dismissed it as just another pen / touchscreen stylus combo. However, I recently saw the impressive $700,000 CAD campaign total and decided to check it out, which lead me to instantly pledge for it. The Polar Pen is a modular magnet based pen and/or stylus that just screams quality, originality and simplicity. It can transform into different tools, help with various tasks and, oh well, you’ll just have to watch the video for this one. Words and photos don’t do it justice.

Magnets become a 2-in-1 pen and capacitive stylus in the Polar Pen.

Entry price is currently $30 CAD for the mini stylus or $40 CAD for the pen+stylus. Estimated delivery is February 2014 and the project is way past its funding goal with 4 days to go.

Gecko is a new iteration of the lost-and-found system that we have seen spread recently, with a lot more baked into it for multi-functionality. It is a small coin-sized device that you can attach to any valuable object, and it will connect to your phone via Bluetooth 4.0. When you leave that object behind, Gecko will alert you, it will also keep the last known GPS location for further investigation. But Gecko is also a remote camera and video shutter, and a gesture-based music controller. So much functionality trapped into such a small device!

Gecko: a lost-and-found system, a remote camera shutter and a music controller in one.

Entry price is currently $20 for one Gecko. Estimated delivery is December 2013 and the project is already fully funded with 15 days to go.

When it comes to activity and wellness trackers, we’ve seen every form factor from shoe trackers, to smart socks, watches, chest straps, clips, bracelets… or have we? Enter the Hexoskin and BreathAcoustics, two separate projects with two innovative form factors. The Hexoskin is a shirt based tracker that will monitor everything from heart rate to breathing, acceleration, speed, steps, and more. BreathAcoustics on the other hand takes a headset approach, and tracks your breathing, oximetry, heart rate, altitude, location and metabolism.

BreathAcoustics and Hexoskin both defy the common form factors of activity and wellness trackers.

Entry price is currently $369 for the Hexoskin. Estimated delivery is February 2014 and the project is already fully funded with 7 days to go. As for BreathAcoustics, entry price is currently $200. Estimated delivery is December 2014 and the project is nearing being funded with 18 days to go.

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Steven S

most of these projects are either complete garbage, or ridiculously overpriced

EverDock is not even a dock, it’s a charging stand … I bought a small, solid little dock from eBay last year for $8 .. slide My phone into the micro usb port, plug computer speakers into the 3.5″ aux port on the back = charge while listening to quality sounding music from TuneIn Pro

Yeah, maybe the “dock” term is being overused here, but it still is a very glamorous charging stand.

I agree about Pressy, I pledged for the early backer set, and it was featured in last month’s roundup here. I also got my Meenova mini microSD reader a few days ago and love it.

Kevin Welch

I’d like to see meenova on this list. Meenova.com

http://www.symbian-guru.com khouryrt

Oh, Meenova is now beyond the crowdfunding stage, so it doesn’t qualify in this roundup. But, I loved the idea when it was on Kickstarter and I actually pledged for it. Got my unit a few days ago. Full review coming up.